Newsletter 12 08
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This document summarizes a request for donations to support the Lotus House shelter and Foundation. It provides details on accepting both monetary and in-kind donations, including how to make monetary donations online or via check. It also lists honorary board directors and needed items for women and children at the shelter, including clothing, household items, furniture, and a mini-van. The document promotes supporting the organization's mission to empower homeless, poor, and disadvantaged women and children.
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Newsletter 12 08
- 1. donateYou can make a difference! Your support is essential to our work to empower women and children in need to become whole again and truly who they were meant to be. On behalf of the homeless women and infants we shelter, thank you for your compassion and commitment to the Lotus House and the mission of the Foundation to serve homeless, poor and disadvataged woment and children! We accept both monetary and in-kind donations.油Drop-offs at the shelter can be made any time between 8am and 7pm, seven days a week. Please ask for Rosanna, Irma or Maria and remember to request a receipt. To make a monetary donation, please go to our website www.lotushouseshelter.org or make checks payable to: The Sundari Foundation, Inc., 445 Grand Bay Drive, #PH1B, Key Biscayne Fl 33149, Attn: Constance Collins Margulies. To learn more about our endowment fund and how you can make a gift that keeps on giving, please call 305.365.2478. DONATIONS TO THE FOUNDATION ARE DEDUCTIBLE TO THE FULL EXTENT PERMITTED BY SECTION 501(c)(3) OF THE FEDERAL TAX CODE (TAX ID # 81-0652266). A COPY OF THE OFFICIAL REGISTRATION AND FINANCIAL INFORMATION FOR THE FOUNDATION (CH17660) WITH THE STATE OF FLORIDA MAY BE OBTAINED FROM THE DIVISION OF CONSUMER SERVICES BY CALLING TOLL FREE (800-435-7352) WITHIN THE STATE. REGISTRATION DOES NOT IMPLY ENDORSEMENT, APPROVAL OR RECOMMENDATION BY THE STATE. Honorary Board Directors 2008-2009 Brenda Bengis, Esquire Elaine Berkowitz Ramona Boucher Pamela Cohen Belkis Galainena Niti Gerson Rosie Gordon Wallace Patricia Guerra Sam Hollander Chris Ingalls Terri and Michael Josephs, Esquire Nick Korniloff Sharron Lannan Korybut Catherine Lee Cathy Leff David and Renee Lieberman Beth P. Lotspeich Martin Z. Margulies Iveris Martinez Gordon Miller, MD Dahlia and Andrew Morgan Ilona Oppenheim Yvette Perez Alina Perez Stable Julie Petricone Aaron Podhurst, Esquire Mark Scharnitz Grettel Singer Bernice Steinbaum Larry and Pat Stewart, Esquire John Sumberg, Esquire Nina Surel Christine and Marty Taplin Diane Walder, MD Angela W. Whitman Faith Xenos Baby Items Baby bottles Baby blankets and clothing Baby socks and shoes Diapers (sizes 1-5) Baby wipes Baby shampoo, lotion, powder Cribs and baby furniture Strollers Womens Items Toiletries Underwear and bras Womens clothing all sizes Socks and shoes Household items Dishes and Silverware Cookware Laundry detergent Cleaning supplies Linens Appliances Beds (Twn to Qwn) Loveseats Chairs Small Dining Sets Small TVs Special Item Needed Mini-van or truck (New or Gently Used We accept in-kind donations! newsCHILDRENS HOLIDAY PARTY AND MATERNITY HEALTH FAIR Let it snow!! And it did (really), as Barney and Elmo greeted hundreds of children with warm hugs and plenty of holiday cheer at the Lotus House Holiday Party! Thanks to Books and Books, Jakes Pacific Toys, and many local merchants and friends, Lotus House helpers handed out over 500 toys, books and gift bags to everyones delight. Kids, ages 0 to 10 from the Overtown neighborhood, beamed as they skipped from face painting to the bounce house, decorated cookies, made holiday cards, enjoyed lunch and rested for a bit of old fashioned story telling. For moms and mothers-to-be, information booths and sign-ups for Healthy Start, Health Connect and community services were the order of the day, to make sure both moms and babies get the health care, services and benefits they need in these difficult times. Everyone enjoyed homemade fresh fruit smoothies, sandwiches and fruit cups made by Lotus House residents - a healthy way to start the holidays - as they shared the afternoon festivities in the relaxed shade of the Lotus House gardens. Many, many thanks to our tireless and enthusiastic volunteers and donors for making this event possible for so many needy children - it was truly heartwarming and a wonderful way to share the joy of the season! FoURTH ANNUAL THANKSGIVING Celebration Thanksgiving Day was truly a cause for grateful celebration as Lotus House opened its doors to young and old alike for its Fourth Annual Thanksgivng Day Dinner serving the Overtown neighborhood. Volunteers from across the community and Lotus House served over 500 meals! Guests were treated to roast turkey and all the fixins, thanks to the generosity of Martin Margulies. Everyone enjoyed the special Lotus House Soup Kitchen Cake baked and served with love by 16 year old Shelby Hinds, our youngest LH volunteer. And thanks to Unity Church on the Bay, Entemanns and Vicki from Key Biscayne Framing, both Lotus House and needy families in the neighborhood received fresh fruit and baked goods to take home, topping off a scrumptious dinner. Lotus House is situated in the heart of Overtown, the historic African American district of Miami. With an average annual income of only $11,300, Overtown is one of the poorest neighborhoods in Miami, itself one of the poorest large cities in the country. For many, the Lotus House thanksgiving dinner was not only their only meal of the day - but the best in many weeks and their gratitude showed. Many thanks to all our volunteers and friends for making this Thanksgiving a memorable feast for which we could be truly thankful. MUCH TO CELEBRATE! Lotus House has served over 300 women and children since its establishment. We have been proud mothers to over 20 newborns and another eight infants since opening the doors of our maternity wing, with more on the way! Our combination of free transitional housing facilities and wrap-around support services focused on the gender specific needs of homeless women, including women who are pregnant and their infants, are unique in Miami-Dade County. We provide much needed support and access to a wide range of resources and benefits to address health, medical, legal, educational, employment, housing and financial issues facing women who are desperately seeking to build a better way of life for themselves and their children. Many, many thanks to all of you for your support throughout the year, making all that we do possible. The Lotus House family wishes you and your family peace, prosperity and love throughout the coming New Year! lotus house letters 12.08 DSC 0014 cropped Shelby Hinds serves our favorite cake - where hope blossoms Shelby Hinds serves our favorite cake - where hope blossoms Thanksgiving Day Celebration at Lotus House Snow in Miami? The Holidays are filled with Miracles! Creative writinG GROUP The Lotus House creative writing group gathers Sunday afternoons in the community center at the shelter to share poetry, tea and the company of one another. The group selects the subject matter of their writings each week with topics ranging from hope and love to homelessness, healing and life itself. Field trips to artists studios and art spaces inspire our writers, as they explore the interplay of visual arts with creative writing. Everyone in the house is welcome and often those who have already transitioned to their new homes return to participate. Lively discussions each week are mixed with tears, laughter and quiet moments of reflection and awe at the insights shared. We give voice to our creative source, explore our shared humanity, and quickly learn, we are all teachers and students. The creative writing group joined recently with women artists from around the world to complete a special limited edition portfolio of art and poetry entitled By and About Women, tthe proceeds of which will be used to help build the endowment fund for the shelter. Internationally recognized artist, Carrie Mae Weems, was invited to work with the wrriting group to create a special photo (center page) to be included in the portfolio. The group contributed poetry and selected writings inspired by the work of many of the other photographers who participated in this project. Writers and artists alike represented symbolically the struggles, hopes, and dreams of all women and children, with a diversity that spaned generations, race, ethnicity, education and status, even as they answered the timesless questions of their personal identity. Through the creative process, we explored the capacity of art to touch and uplift those in need and were reminded of our profound interconnectedness. In the end, the portfolio becomes a strong metaphor for our collaboration together, illustrating the whole is greater than the sum of its singular parts, and through it we discover the strength of community. BY AND ABOUT WOMEN PORTFOLIO Touching, soulful and beautiful the By and About Women portfolio resonates deeply with the concept and cause underlying the Lotus House, and in so many ways gives voice to the dreams and aspirtations of all women to be safe, free and truly who they were meant to be. In both, we transform the isolation of poverty and homelessness into a message of hope, social inclusion and heightened awareness of what each of us can to do make a difference. For more information on how to purchase the By and About Women portfolio, please see our website lotushouseshelter.org or contact: Constance Collins Margulies, President Lotus Endowment Fund, Inc. at 305.365.2478 or 7thhouse@bellsouth.net. Mama I forgive you I just want to meet you I just want to know you Do I look like you Who are you Where did you come from Mama I forgive you I just want to touch you And talk with you And you can tell me why Mama I forgive you Thank you for putting me in a safe place I was loved and taught good values and kindness and how to forgive others and pray and try to be hopeful Mama I forgive you Am I your only child or do I have sisters and brothers Are you with my father or dont you know him Who are you Mama I can see your face How can I reach you Whats your name Mama are you my angel that surrounds me Are you the lady I see in my dreams I wonder do you think of me Mama Im empty without knowing You find me Mama Mama I forgive you Anonoymous Poem from Writing Group about us Formed in 2004, the Sundari Foundation is a 501c3 non-profit, non-denominational, public charity organized for charitable and educational purposes, including specifically providing relief to homeless, poor, distressed and disadvantaged women and children. Sundari Foundation founded and operates the Lotus House Womens Shelter, a free, non-denominational, holistic residential facility and resource center providing shelter, sanctuary and comprehensive support services for homeless women and children. Lotus House is situated in the heart of the historic African American district of Overtown in Miami, Florida, an area suffering from extreme poverty and urban blight in one of the poorest large cities in the United States. Lotus House provides free housing for up to a year, three meals a day, clothing, and comprehensive support services, such as individual and group counseling, computer classes, job placement, access to medical and mental health services and a wide range of community resources, along with educational workshops and a host of enrichment activities such as art, creative writing, field trips, and much more. The shelter also includes a special wing for women who are homeless and pregnant and their infants, arranging pre-natal care, birthing and parenting classes and early infant medical care and screening, to ensure these fragile families can look forward to a better way of life. Lotus House is not a typical shelter but a place where the minds, bodies and spirits of women and children most in need are afforded an opportunity to learn and grow on every level. For more information on the Sundari Foundation and Lotus House, please see our website at www.lotushouseshelter.org. the lotus house main building 217 NW 15th Street, Miami, Florida 33136
- 2. Our Programming is Designed to Empower Women to Succeed! With multi-faceted, comprehensive and coordinated programming, Lotus House seeks to support, connect, uplift, and empower women to succeed. In addition to shelter, food and clothing, Lotus House provides access to a wide range of support services and resources such as medical and mental health treatment, educational workshops, tutoring, employment assistance, social services advocacy, and legal referrals, as a well as a host of enrichment activities such as creative writing, dance, music, art classes, and so much more. Maternity and infant services Lotus House opened in March 2006 to provide shelter and support and serve as a resource center for women who are homeless, whether due to domestic violence, untreated medical or mental health issues, disabilities, loss of employment or other economic reasons. Initially without facilities for infants, we anguished over the desperation of women who were homeless and pregnant, facing discrimination in employment, struggling to obtain proper nutrition, in need of medical and mental health care, and of course, lacking a safe home and support system for themselves and their babies. We heard wrenching stories of babies taken at birth because the moms lacked a safe home and proper support system. One young woman described her tearful pleas as she approached a police officer outside a grocery store begging for help for the baby in her arms because she was homeless, starving, and unable to purchase formula or care for her baby; taken from her immediately by the officer, this mother was unable to navigate the legal proceedings that followed because she lacked a safe, secure home and support system for herself. Grief-stricken, she never recovered her infant. When Lotus House first opened, it was forced to turn away this very needy, fragile population of mothers-to-be and infants because it lacked adequate facilities for their special needs. Thankfully, our prayers for these women and infants were answered by a kind benefactor who donated the funds to enable the Foundation to purchase and open a special maternity building in March of 2007, dedicated to serving women who are homeless and pregnant and their infants. The maternity wing of Lotus House now provides a home for up to sixteen moms or mothers-to-be and up to sixteen infants and toddlers at a time. In addition to providing basic services such as housing, food, and clothing, Lotus House arranges for pre-natal care, birthing and parenting classes, and infant development screening and medical care, along with needed maternity and baby supplies. Each mother-to-be works closely with her resource coordinator at the Lotus House to access available services and benefits for herself and her baby, and of course our full programming and support services are there to assist our mothers-to-be and moms and babies as they begin their new lives together. Following the birth of her child, each woman works with our employment specialist for assistance in re-entering the work world, day care for her child, learning how to juggle her new role as a mother with her employment, and saving her nest egg for her future transition to a permanent home with her new infant. When mom and baby are ready to move, Lotus House helps them get settled in their new homes, with donated furnishings, linens, dishes and kitchen necessities, as well as special needs items for babies like cribs, hi- chairs, strollers, car seats, and supplies. Lotus House is designed to address the special needs of women who are pregnant and their infants, to ensure these fragile families can look forward to a safe, secure and better way of life. We are now proud mothers to over 30 infants and toddlers with more on the way! programming highlights typical apartment, shared by moms and their babies, in our maternity wing Lotus house hosts a baby shower for every mom Every Child Is Cherished and Nurtured from the StartOne of our many precious newborns We know that in difficult economic times, the numbers of homeless and demands on Lotus House are greater than ever, and yet, the funds needed to feed, clothe, shelter and provide services to homeless women and children of Lotus House become ever more scare and challenging to raise. To that end, in December 2007, the Lotus Endowment Fund, Inc. was formed to ensure that Lotus House will serve as a resource for women and children in need for generations to come. The fund was launched with a gift of the land and buildings comprising the original Lotus House facilities from an anonoymous donor and an initial promise of $500,000 from Martin Margulies. This was an important first step toward achieving our goal of ensuring financial security for the shelter no matter how difficult the times. But we cannot rest until we have raised a fund sufficient to ensure that the operating and capital needs of the Foundation are adequately secured for the long term future. The immediate goal of the Endowment Fund is to raise a minimum of $5 Million over five years. In hopes of inspiring others with their support of our goal, Jay and Beth Lotspecih announced a leadership pledge in the amount of $300,000 to the Endowment Fund at our fall fundraiser. We hope you will join them and us as we seek to ensure the financial stability of Lotus House by making a gift that keeps on giving! The Endowment Fund is organized and operated exclusively as a 501c3 supporting foundation and affords donors the same tax benefits as donors to the Foundation. There are many naming opportunities at Lotus House to honor our donors and their loved ones. Let us help you select an appropriate memorial or legacy, whether it is a gift of appreciated stock, a pledge over time, naming the Endowment Fund in your will or other gift and estate planning. Equally important, let us provide appropriate recognition for your generosity in securing the future of those in need and inspire others with your gift as well! Thankyou on behalf of the women and children Lotus House will serve for generations to come! Lotus House Soup Kitchen Gala and Art Auction at Margulies Warehouse Proud graduates of the Lotus House Food Prep Job Training Program served up gourmet--style comfort food and cupcakes at the Lotus House Soup Kitchen Gala. With the help of countless volunteers, Lotus House created a true-to-life 1960s soup kitchen inspired by Andy Warhols iconic Pop Art image of the Campbells soup can for its Fourth Annual C o n t e m p o r a r y Art Auction benefitingtheshelter. The soup of the day? Served everyday at Lotus House - Where Hope Blossoms! And many dreams came true that night, as Christies acutioneers and party-goers cheered on a record breaking live auction. Thanks to the generosity of our sponsors, hosts, supporters and so many artists from around the world, Lotus House raised over $425,000 to help operate the shelter in the coming year. Lotus House also honored Jay and Beth Lotspeich and the Lotspeich Family for their generous leadership grant of $300,000 to the Lotus Endowment Fund, helping to ensure that Lotus House will serve as a resource for women and children in need for generations. Many thankss to all of our guests for your unprecedented support and good wishes this past year, making all that we do possible! The Sundari Foundation, Inc. and the Lotus Endowment Fund, Inc. Honor the Lotspeich Family Jay and Beth Lotspeich and their children, Kathryn Villano, Julie Petricone and Bradshaw Lotspeich for their extraordinary commitment and contributions to the Lotus House Womens Shelter. Our deepest love and gratitude to the Lotspeich Family for their generous gift to the Lotus endowment Fund, so that Lotus House may serve as a resource for generations of of women and children in need to come. MANY THANKS TO OUR SPONSORS AND HOSTS - Christies, Lichtenstein Foundation, B. Carlin Foundation, Art Miami and BlackRock Investments, AXA Art Insurance Corp., Bank of America NA, Donald and Audre Carlin, Podhurst Orseck, Singer Xenos Wealth Management, Irma and Norman Braman, Emigrant Bank, Pinnacle Housing Group, Bilzin Sumberg Baena Price & Axelrod, LLP, Bruce and Evelyn Langlieb Greer, David and Renee Lieberman, Marvin and Elayne Mordes, Julie Petricone, Francien Ruwitch, Larry and Pat Stewart, Kathryn Villano, Richard Bermont, Vincent Da- mian, Colleen and Richard Fain, Constantine Grimaldis, Burton Hersh, Michael and Terri Josephs, Marti Mang and Total Bank, Ronnie and Her- mina Seiden, Christine and Martin Taplin, and Diane Walder, MD! On behalf of those we serve, Thankyou! Michael and Terri Josephs Donald and Audre Carlin Diane Walder, MD, Constance Collins, and Friend Lotus House Food Prep Graduates Angie Whitman and Kay Lee Nick Korniloff and Pamela Cohen, Art Miami Stuart Grossman, Polly Schiff, Ann Levy and Rich- ard Bermont Dorothy Podhurst, Nedra Orin and Friend Laura and Evelyn Greer